Journeys to the Edge

Journeys to the Edge

A rebel from a young age, Randy Peeters defied expectations to become one of the few to have completed to Adventure Grand Slam. This caused endless conflicts in his personal and work life.

As the manager of a thousand technical staff at an aerospace company, he was responsible for a great deal. All the while, he pursued his BASE-jumping certification. More than once this goal brought him to clashes with everyone in his life. Not one to shy away from strife, he eventually survived a parachute jump off Half Dome. He shares the joys of his successes when things went well.

More importantly, Peeters is unafraid to explore his failings. He experienced a shock of an embarrassment by encountering someone while he had a bout of diarrhea on a tough climb in Southern California. His wife hung up on him while he was in jail in Yosemite National Park. Peeter’s climbing partner died while they were on Everest.

To reach his goal of achieving the Adventure Grand Slam, Peeters had to sacrifice family and work time. In order to succeed, he had to build a life-long adventure resume that built the necessary fortitude. Experience this explorer’s ardent dreams and use them to formulate a vision for your own life.

Quote from the book

“It’s early afternoon and I am sitting in the Yosemite National Park Jail awaiting arraignment for BASE Jumping Half Dome and all I can think about is how I could have avoided capture in the first place … Fast forward ten years—Base Camp, Mount Everest. After learning my climbing partner had fallen to his death on the Lhotse Face, I was devastated and didn’t know what to do. My options were to either descend to a lower altitude until my frostbite healed and then finish the climb, or give up and go home.”

Reminder: Journeys to the Edge is the perfect gift for the adventurer or someone looking for a vision for their life!

Reader Reviews

Just finished your book. Well done! I guess there were a few stories you had not told me. What’s next? – Bob Baird, Foresthill, CA

I’ve been meaning to write and congratulate you on your book and more importantly on a life well-lived! Pretty darn amazing, almost beyond my thought processes! How fortunate and brave you were to act on the ‘get out there and do it’ gene!!! – Judi Miller (EHS ’63)

Enjoyed your book – I never knew you were such a wild man! It was fun getting to know you through your adventures. – Connie McGehee, North Hills, CA

I enjoyed reading your book. It was encouraging to hear of someone’s journey towards “nailing down” a personal vision. That is something that I have been working on and your book has helped in my journey. – Mandy Schafer, Citrus Heights, CA

I just finished reading your book. Wow! What a great read that was. I felt like I was reading a personal letter, since I remember many of the stories from when you were here. – David Baggett, Los Alamos, NM

Great book, I enjoyed it a lot, and my children Jean-François and Lorene also are reading it. … I did not want to go hiking in Taliban country, nor break ribs in whirlpools, so I visited the island of Madagascar … there are some cliffs over there waiting for adventurers like you. – Jean-Paul Duval, Provence, France

From the Author

Dawn Wall on El Capitan is truly one of the greatest climbs of the modern era of rock climbing. I have climbed El Capitan seven times including routes on both sides of this impressive wall. Interestingly enough, as described in Chapter 8-Into the Void, the Ultimate Adrenaline Rush section beginning on page 164 of Journeys to the Edge: The 2000 foot freefall portion of the BASE jump I completed off El Capitan flew down the face along the Dawn Wall route. So while I have not climbed this impressive route, I have spent a full 13 seconds flying very close to it on the way to the valley floor!

About the author

Dr. Randy Peeters is dedicated to helping busy people lead a balanced life. With his unique and energetic style, Dr. Peeters encourages the readers of Journeys to the Edge to take an introspective and fresh look at their lives and to plan for their future. With his extensive background in the corporate, government and university world, he shares personal observations and life’s lessons gleaned from his nearly 70 years of life. Randy’s career has included positions as an individual contributor, chief scientist and as an executive manager with responsibility for 1050 technical employees. His expedition portfolio includes the Adventure Grand Slam, i.e., climbing the highest point on each continent and reaching both poles. These experiences are the basis for helping readers to better understand life’s challenges.

Randy firmly believes that knowing how to lead a balanced life results in a happier and more productive individual and that a key tool for a full and successful life is an effective personal vision.

Dr. Peeters is available to facilitate Setting a Personal Vision Workshops and the result of this half day seminar is that each attendee is not only energized and entertained, but leaves with a draft of their own personal vision. Not only do these multi-media presentations cover a wide variety of extreme sports, but they have a much deeper message regarding the spiritual aspects of a life on the edge.

Randy also does personal vision tutoring for anyone desiring one-to-one help in developing and refining their personal vision, including prioritized and measurable goals. By gaining an understanding of your individual needs and desires, Dr. Peeters is able to act as a sounding board for creating and monitoring an action plan that will lead to an effective personal vision.

The above services are available offsite or at your facility and would be appropriate for groups or individuals. Typical groups include CEOs, company officers, key executives, staff members and employees. This program is also frequently used for retreats, often with significant others in attendance.